Wagon-tongue support



1 (No Model.)

T. H. INK. WAGON TONGUE SUPPORT.

No. 459,731. Paten-ted Sept. 15, 1891.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THERON H. INK, OF ST. HELENA, ASSIGNOR ONE-HALF TO \V. A. MCKENZIE, OF NAPA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

WAGON-TONGUE SUPPORT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 459,731, dated September 15, 1891.

Application filed July 21, 1890. Serial No. 359,427. (No model.)

To to whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THERoN H. INK, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Helena, in the county of Napa, State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wagon-Tongues; and'I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to wagon-tongues, and more particularly to a device for supporting said parts, by the use of which the Weight of the tongue is taken from the necks of the horses. As ordinarily constructed, a wagontongue is pivoted in the hounds, so that it may drop down and rest on the ground. When the team is hitched to the wagon, the front endof the tongue is supported by chains connected to the harness, and the necks of the horses sustain its entire weight. WVith my device the wagon-tongue when out of use will be supported in a substantially horizon tal position, and when in use with the team hitched will be so supported independently of the horses that the chains mentioned, if employed, will hang slack.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the hounds, axle, and tongue of a wagon with my supporting device in position. a Fig. 2 is a plan view. Fig. 3 is a side elevation.

The invention is here described and shown as applied to a two-horse wagon of ordinary construction for hauling purposes; but it can be used upon wagons of other kinds, as well as for carriage-shafts, and, indeed, for roadvehicles of all kinds.

A represents the axle, and B the hounds, of ordinary construction.

0 is the tongue or pole, pivoted between the hounds upon the pin a.

D represents a supporting-spring secured bya suitable clipbto the axle and projecting forward beneath the tongue, as shown, its forward end sliding freely in a slot formed in another clip 0, secured upon the tongue. The

spring may be an ordinary fiat leaf; but I prefer to build it up of semi-elliptic sections, as The spring is supported from above shown.

and its tension regulated by a clevis E, the

threaded ends of which pass up through holes in a bridgeF, bolted at or near the front ends of the hounds, as shown. Nuts d cl hold the clevis in whatever position it may be placed in relatively to the spring, in order to adjust the tension of the latter. In normal position on an ordinary wagon of the class shown the tongue is held by the spring substantially horizontal, whether the team is attached or not, although the spring permits sufficient vertical movement of the tongue upon its pivot. It will be understood, however, that the spring need not be attached directly to the axle itself. It is only necessary that its fixed end should be independent of the tongue, and therefore it might be secured to a projection from the axle or to the hounds, or, in fact, to any part of the swinging forward truck.

In-some classes of wagons, and particularly in that kind in which the tongue, instead of extending back, is connected to a frame-work in advance ofthe axle, a very long supporting-spring would be required beneath the tongue. Under such circumstances I prefer to make the bridge-piece F a spring also, the ends of which slide in clips on the frame-work above mentioned. The tension of both springs may then be regulated by a turn-buckle connected to both in place of the clevis before described. Of course where the tongue extends back centrally the clevis affords a better means of regulating.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is The combination of the axle-hounds and tongue with the spring D beneath the same, the bridge F, located forward of the pivot of the tongue and supported by the hounds in dependent of the tongue, and the clevis E, supported from the bridge and passing beneath the spring, substantially as described.

, T. H. INK. Witnesses:

WILLIAM POPE, W. A. MCKENZIE. 

